Tender Thoughts
by ilovespikespiegel
Summary: When Grell disappears and nobody seems to care, Sebastian finds himself wondering how he truly feels about the reaper. He voices his confessions to his cat, the unique cat that showed up on the porch one night, the cat with the long red fur. GrellxSebby
1. That Cat, So Intelligent

Ten o' clock in the middle of the night, all was quiet in the Phantomhive Manor. Ciel had retired a little over two hours prior, and the others had finished their household duties an hour after the young master went to bed, leaving Sebastian alone in consciousness in the large mansion. It had been another tiresome day, performing tasks laid out by none other than her majesty the Queen. The demon, who just so happened to be one _hell_ of a butler, did not exhaust from the day's events, but then again, he _was_ a demon, a demon focused primarily on one thing, devouring his young master's soul. Though everyone knew that was the sole purpose for his being, it seemed _clearly_ that he and the boy did have a bond that no other person would be able to comprehend.

Sebastian settled into a chair in the living room, his favorite chair, and found his place in the book he had started the previous night, The Great Gatsby. Sighing, he contented himself with the love story and began reading. Demons did have incredible reading skills and the ability to finish a dictionary in a matter of minutes, but some books were meant to be simply...enjoyed.

"_Scritch scratch! Scritch scratch!"_

His head snapped towards the direction the sound came from; the direction where something _or someone_ was scratching on the front door. Looking at the clock hung in the living room, Sebastian muttered to himself, "Hmm...what a late hour for a visitor."

As if the unknown scratching source heard him, a familiar meowing sound erupted from behind the wooden door.

_A cat? Here?_ Sebastian scratched his head in wonder at the expectant small, fragile creature waiting outside.

Ciel Phantomhive, the master and head of the household, as well as the Phantomhive name, did not particularly care for the feline species; he was a rather canine fan.

Perhaps there was a way, the butler thought, for him to keep the cat quiet without his master knowing. It was a rather risky task; a direct order to _not_ keep the cat would have to be followed, if Ciel chose.

A thought ran through Sebastian's mind; he had never _actually_ opened the door and even _saw_ the cat. Maybe it wasn't a cat; maybe he was just hearing things.

"_Meow, scritch scratch. Meow, mew."_

He walked over to the door and opened it. Even if it was someone trying to beguile their way into the household, he could kill said person with nothing more than his bare hands.

A long-haired rather large cat sat on the porch licking its paw. It had the most beautiful coat Sebastian had ever seen on a cat; it was _red_, bright red.

"What a beautiful feline," the butler said while picking the cat up into his arms. "Such soft paws and a long fuzzy tail and-"

The cat hopped out of his arms and started weaving throughout his legs, purring and mewing the entire time. Sebastian sat on the floor in front of the cat and it rolled over on its back, allowing him to pet its stomach.

"The young master would not be happy if he found you inside, and as my contract with my master I cannot-"

As if the cat knew how we would finish his sentence, it sat down and mewed softly, pawing at the demon butler's arm. Sebastian smiled as the little feline tried to win him over; it was working though.

He picked the cat up in his arms and stroked its long bright red fur. "Alright, I suppose you can stay in my room as long as you're quiet."

The cat hopped out of his arms again and ran for the kitchen. Sebastian tilted his head slightly and asked himself, "How does he know where the kitchen is? Hmm... smart cat."

Following the feline, Sebastian _knew_ he had to name the cat, it certainly couldn't continue being referred to as _the cat_. It was a male cat with long soft red fur. A very unique color for a very unique cat, therefore he needed a very unique name.

When Sebastian walked into the kitchen, the cat was sitting in front of the refrigerator meowing and pawing at the door. The cat was then hoisted into the butler's arms and asked to stay quiet, producing soft, gentle mews from that point on.

The clock struck twelve o'clock midnight, such a late hour to be cooking, but the elegant feline _had_ to eat something. A bowl of water and a plate of fresh-cooked chicken were placed in front of the beautiful creature that turned up his nose and pranced away.

Sebastian could not help but chuckle at the feline's actions. "Stubborn are you? I'm sure you'll eat it if I leave it with you."

. . .

An hour later, tucked away in the red-eyed butler's room, the feline slept contently at the bottom of his bed. The plate of chicken was empty and sitting beside the water bowl. A litter box was also sitting in the corner of his room. As a demon butler, he had no need for sleep, but rest was always helpful and welcomed. Rest was exactly what the feline-lover did in the remaining hours before the sun rose up over the horizon.

The cat curled up beside him and purred happily throughout the night. "You're one of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen," Sebastian said while petting the cat's head.

. . .

Eight o' clock sharp, Sebastian hopped out of his bed and prepared for the day. The cat was right beside him the whole time.

"You act more _human _than you do feline. But, I can tell you are a not a demon cat just by your scent. However, you have to stay here during the day and remain quiet," Sebastian pet the cat once more before leaving his bedroom, locking the door, and slipping the key into his pocket.

It wasn't very likely that someone would enter his room throughout the day, but precautionary measures were best taken in matters such as these.

The young master wanted to be woken up on a strict schedule, especially on days when there were letters from the Queen. Sebastian headed downstairs towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Ciel, his master.

After the table was set and breakfast was served, he made his way upstairs to wake the young boy, dress him, and lead him downstairs for breakfast.

As the boy sat down in his usual seat, his butler handed him the letter which he opened right away.

A peculiar look grew across the boy's face. "Sebastian, this letter is not from the queen, it is from a William T. Spears of the Shinigami Society. It appears that Grell Sutcliff has been kidnapped," the boy said while handing the letter to Sebastian.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Grell has been kidnapped? Why would someone go through all that trouble?"

"I don't know. It's not my job to know; I'm not the one responsible for him." Ciel sipped his blackberry mint tea and finished his breakfast. "By the way Sebastian, what were those strange sounds coming from your room last night?"

Sebastian smirked. There were many ways to answer that question without stating the actual truth. "Well my young master, if you really want to know..."

"No, I renounce my question," the boy flashed a glare at his butler before smirking himself and saying, "Sebastian, if you were really trying to hide the fact that we now have a cat, the least you could have done would have been to hide the random bag of cat litter sitting in the kitchen. We haven't had a cat and Pluto didn't use the litter so..."

Sebastian sighed, ashamed that he made such a foolish and careless mistake. "I'll take care of it right away my lord," before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Wait! I didn't say you couldn't keep the cat. In fact, I was thinking that we should probably get a cat. Ever since Pluto's death, it's been...quiet around here."

His butler bowed and said, "Exactly my thoughts. I am sure that you will love the cat the minute you see him. He's quite intelligent and very unique."

"I'll let you keep the cat on one condition," Ciel said smirking. "_I_ get to name it."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is my first GrellxSebby fic so I hope it is good! I have only watched the first season and I haven't read or watched the second season yet so Alois and Claude will not be in this, as of right now. **

**Ciel needs help naming the kitty cat! Anyone who can come up with a cute name for the cat will be credited for it. If I receive more than one name, I will choose one at random and find a way to incorporate the other ones as well. **

**Though this is a GrellxSebby story, Grell won't be in this for a little while because...well I can't exactly say now can I? **


	2. That Cat, With a Death Scythe

"Very well my lord. I shall bring you the cat," Sebastian left the room and returned a moment later with the red-furred cat.

He placed the cat on the floor in front of Ciel whose eyes immediately widened. "Sebastian! Are you mad? It looks just like Grell!"

"Grell? Ah yes, I suppose it does. Will that be a problem, young master?" Sebastian surprisingly didn't realize before how much the feline resembled the obnoxious shinigami.

Ciel crossed his arms and observed the way the cat followed his butler around the way a dog would. "Rose."

"I'm sorry?"

"We're naming the cat Lord Rose the Reaper, Rose for short. While I am aware of the fact that it _is_ a male, his likenesses to Grell are uncanny, therefore Rose seems like a fitting name. Don't you agree?" Ciel picked up the cat into his arms and was instantly hissed at.

Sebastian nodded and smirked at the cat's reaction to the young boy. "Yes, a very fitting name indeed."

Rose growled at Ciel and refused to be held by him any longer. When he let the cat jump out of his arms, Rose ran right over to Sebastian and pawed at his leg. He picked Rose up and placed him on the couch where he curled up and went to sleep.

Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "So young master, what are the plans for today? Are we going to search for Grell?" As obnoxious and obsessive Grell was with Sebastian, Sebastian couldn't help but feel a little bit worried about his whereabouts. He protected Ciel on the agreement that Grell would get Sebastian all to himself for one whole day, but that day never happened.

Ciel scoffed. "Why would I go look for _him?_ I'm not in charge of keeping after him. I want to go to the...zoo today." The last two words seemed forced, as if Ciel himself was surprised at what he was saying.

The demon butler raised a raven-colored eyebrow at the boy and asked, "The zoo, my lord? The letter from the Shinigami Dispatch Society doesn't take precedence over that?"

"No. How many times to I have to say it? I'm not wasting my time searching for that reaper. Sebastian, it almost seems as if you _want_ to search for him," Ciel stated while petting Rose.

Sebastian smirked. "They are simply suggestions. If you want to go to the zoo, then that is what we shall do."

. . .

"Look at the crocodile Finnie! Its teeth are so sharp it could probably swallow me in one bite!" She said in her heavily accented voice before squealing and hiding behind the equally frightened Finnian.

Bard crossed his arms across his chest and laughed at how scared the two house-workers were of something behind layers and layers of metal fencing. "Ow! What the hell was that?" Bard turned around to see the monkey that was pulling his hair through the cage; he rubbed his head and moved away from the monkey cage.

Meanwhile, Sebastian and Ciel were in a different part of the zoo, the jungle section. "Sebastian, what's your favorite zoo animal?"

The obvious answer was of course, "A panther. May I ask what yours is, young lord?" Sebastian had other things on his mind at the moment, other _people_ but he had to at least pretend to be interested.

"The flamingos. They're elegant and aren't obnoxious like the other animals," Ciel leaned on the fence surrounding the large pink birds.

Sebastian's mind wandered again to the red-haired shinigami and he decided to try convincing his master yet again to go searching for him. "Young master, Grell _did_ save your life, and he helped save Lady Elizabeth."

"Why are you so persistent about that man? He doesn't even consider _himself_ a man. If you really want to go and find him, then fine," Ciel agreed finally. "But, only if you answer my question. _Why_ do you even care about that reaper?"

Of course there was a catch, no matter what the circumstance was, Sebastian knew that Ciel was always a bit selfish; but then again, he _was_ only twelve years old, so that was to be expected. But, he should have at least been a little bit grateful after Grell did in fact save him and his fiancé.

Sebastian sighed and tried to muster a way to express his true feelings about Grell, but how could he when he himself did not even know what those were? Ciel grew tired of waiting for his butler to answer and decided to walk towards the exit of the zoo saying, "Just come on Sebastian. Get the others."

. . .

"Have you seen Grell at all this week?" Ciel asked the man with the long silvery hair that covered his eyes, his name was the Undertaker.

Grell had visited the Undertaker on multiple occasions, the two weren't exactly _friends_, but there was a chance that he knew of Grell's whereabouts.

"Actually, I saw him headed to that carnival that popped up in the center of town the other day. He asked me to go along with him but I was busy that day; I haven't seen him since then," he said.

Ciel raised an eyebrow at the strange man and asked, "What _carnival?_"

"The Gyspy Faire. That man Oliver Cloude hosts it every six years. You probably wouldn't have remembered the last time they were here my lord, considering you were only six years old," Sebastian said from behind Ciel.

The young boy turned around and his butler handed him a flyer for the Gypsy Faire. "One night only..."

(Two Days earlier)

The red-haired shinigami saw the flyer posted on the pole outside. It read loud and clear _Gypsy Faire_, hosted by none other than the famous Oliver Cloude. Oliver just so happened to be next on Grell's list, and Grell's list was _not_ a place you wanted to be.

The Gypsy Faire was set to start at nine o'clock that night, an hour after Grell had arrived at Town Square, early. He sighed and leaned against the chain link fence, he didn't plan on spending the _entire_ night at the faire after all; he planned on bugging Sebastian after he harvested Oliver Cloude's soul.

The night was dark and the air was crisp, the middle of October was obviously chilly, but the coldness didn't bother Grell, he had far too many thoughts on his mind to even be slightly affected by the weather. It was half past eight o'clock, which meant that the reaper had just enough time to find Oliver before the carnival even started.

He turned around towards the many tents and rides inside the fenced-in area and was instantly face-to-face with an elder man with dark skin and white hair. The man was wearing a long silk robe and had his hair tied back into a ponytail. His emerald green eyes stared deep into Grell's olive-colored eyes.

"Why are you standing in front of our faire? You are not a human, you are a Death God, is that correct?" The man didn't break his gaze from the red-haired Shinigami even once.

Grell smiled and said, "Oliver Cloude I presume?" Grell reached into his jacket and pulled his Death Scythe seemingly out of nowhere and revved it at the Gypsy man. "Your name just so happens to be the next on my To Die list. Any last words?"

The man pulled something out of his pocket, some sort of sand and tossed it on Grell while muttering something in a foreign language. Grell waited for the man to finish his foolish muttering. Finally, the man concluded by saying one word, "Meow."

Grell laughed and revved his chainsaw scythe again. "Meow? What kind of last word is that? Oh well, if that's what you're going to say then-"

All of a sudden, Grell dropped his chainsaw scythe to the ground and he began shrinking and changing form until he landed on the ground in the form of a long-haired cat with bright red fur, the same color as his hair. In a pile of red and black clothing, Grell was in shock. The Gyspy man laughed at him through the fence and said, "Now who has the last word little kitty?"

The red-haired feline tried to tell the man off as much as he could but no matter how hard he tried to form words, everything came out as a meow. With no way to grab his clothes, death scythe, or harvest Oliver Cloude's soul, he did the only other thing he could think of to do, he decided to make his way to Sebastian's house. The reaper knew that Sebastian absolutely _adored_ cats, so in reality, his cat form wasn't such a bad idea. He could even get a chance to sleep with his beloved Sebby that way.


End file.
